At the turn of the millenium in Eire, there was a case of child sexual abuse by a member of Parliament that had uncanny parallels two decades later with the Greville Janner case in England.
He has been identified in 2015 through detective work by Shame of Ireland. Their webpage is here [9] and twitter @ShameOfIreland [10]. They unmasked him by following clues in newspaper articles in which he was not named, but various details were described. This can be read on their post and comments here [2a].
Their work leaves no doubt that the child abuser was Patrick Sarsfield Donegan, but this is perhaps the first time he has been named. He was a TD, but is now dead. [A Teachta Dála (TD) is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the Irish Parliament, equivalent to an MP.]
The corporate media have not followed up this good detective work, reluctant it seems to expose the crimes of the supposed democratic representatives of the people. This is one reason for the continuing demise of these papers. Maybe one newspaper will step forward, expose the ex TD for the sake of truth and the victims, and credit Shame of Ireland for their work. If not it is up to peoples social media to spread the truth. Please start blogging and / or spreading the truth. Each individual counts.
Patrick Sarsfield Donegan
Not charged until 40 years after offending
Committed many offences
TD (Irish MP)
Eventually Director of Public Prosecutions recommended prosecution
Evaded prosecution on grounds of ill health, some thought it was illness of convenience
Died not long afterwards
Never faced trial
All of the above are similar to Greville Janner in England.
Donegan was accused of 70 sex attacks on 5 schoolchildren dating back to the 1950’s. One woman said the abuse started when she was just six-years-old and lasted for eight years. Her accusations were supported by four other women who all said the former politician abused them as young girls. The five women came forward to Gardai in 1997. [2a] At least some of the attacks were meant to have happened in a school [6], and one child states that she told a nun of the attacks [2a]
The Director of Public Prosecutions decided to go ahead with the prosecution [6]
Donegan got High Court permission in 1998 to challenge proceedings, claiming it was unfair to continue the proceedings having regard to delay in making complaints, his age, the availability of witnesses and material evidence, the generalised nature of the allegations and previous adverse media publicity.
In Mar 2000 Donegan went to High Court seeking an order restraining the DPP from further proceeding with the criminal prosecution. However the proceedings were struck out, as there was no determination to be made as the trial could not proceed due to his age and deteriorating mental condition. The DPP formally withdrew its prosecution 2 months later [6].
This denied his victims justice in the justice system but does not stop the truth.
His whole career will now have to be reassessed in light of this revelation.
Hopefully others will come forward with their stories. It is unlikely this abuse stopped at 5 victims. Shame of Ireland webpage is here [9] and twitter @ShameOfIreland [10].
Timeline
1923 Oct 29 Patrick Sarsfield “Paddy” Donegan born [1]
Educated at Christian Brothers school Drogheda, County Leith [1]
c.1942 [3] Vincentian Castleknock College, County Dublin [1]
1950’s Donegan abused children probably girls, in school [6] probably with nuns, near borders 5 girls and 70 offences. One girl claimed she was abused from ages 6 to 14 [2a]
1954 Elected for first time as Fine Gael TD (Member of Parliament equivalent) [1]
1973 Minister of Defence [1]
1973 Ordered building of ship Asgelard II [4]
1976 Minister for Lands [1]
1980 Dec Announced retirement [12]
1981 Retired [1]
1997 Garda investigation. 5 women reported abuse [2a]
1997 File sent to DPP [6]
1998 Donegan received High Court permission to challenge proceedings, claiming it was unfair to continue the proceedings having regard to delay in making complaints, his age, the availability of witnesses and material evidence, the generalised nature of the allegations and previous adverse media publicity [6]
2000 Mar 30 High Court Mr Justice Kelly. A former politician, who was seeking an order restraining the DPP from further proceeding with the criminal prosecution. The DPP is not to proceed with the prosecution of a former senior politician on 70 charges of indecent assault of five children following expert medical advice that the man is unfit to stand trial due to his age and illness [6]
2000 Mar 31 Irish Times [6] Former politician `not fit to stand trial’ on child abuse charges
The DPP is not to proceed with the prosecution of a former senior politician on 70 charges of indecent assault of five children following expert medical advice that the man is unfit to stand trial due to his age and illness, the High Court was told yesterday.
Mr Justice Kelly struck out proceedings brought by the former politician, who was seeking an order restraining the DPP from further proceeding with the criminal prosecution, which was due to be heard in the Circuit Criminal Court.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in national politics for more than two decades, ail and Seanad.
Five persons made allegations of indecent assault against him. The complainants are understood to be adults who claimed they were abused by the man when they were children. Some of the allegations date back more than 30 years and are alleged to have occurred in a school.
2000 May 23 Cavan Circuit Criminal Court [7] The State withdrew the charges
2000 May 24 Irish Times [7] Sexual assault charges withdrawn
2000 May 24 Mirror [2a] [2] Ex Politician Unfit for Trial; Child sex abuse case is dropped. SEVENTY child sex charges were dropped because the State decided he was unfit to stand trial. The accused’s barrister Paddy McAntee revealed the DPP had agreed to drop the case based on the individual’s “deteriorating mental condition”. A victim said “I see this man out and about regularly, he is no more senile than I am. “All I wanted was a chance to face him in court and tell him what he had done to me.”
2000 Nov 26 Donegan Died [1]
2000 Nov 26 State Gift Paddy Donegan: Biografie [13]
1-paddy-donegan
2000 Dec 1 Irish Independent Paddy Donegan 1923-2000 [12]
pnuhy12P
2015 Apr Donegan unmasked by Shame of Ireland [2a]
Please note that victims of abuse may be triggered by reading this information. These links are generally UK based.
The Sanctuary for the Abused [A] has advice on how to prevent triggers.
National Association for People Abused in Childhood [B] has a freephone helpline and has links to local support groups.
Other useful sites are One in Four [C]
and Havoca [D].
Useful post on Triggers [E] from SurvivorsJustice [F] blog.
Jim Hoppers pages on Mindfulness [G] and Meditation [H] may be useful.
Hwaairfan blog An Indigenous Australian Approach to Healing Trauma [J]
Survivors UK for victims and survivors of male rape or the sexual abuse of men [K]
Voicing CSA group [L] helps arrange survivors meetings in your area
Links
As there are not many links, I have included most of the revelant information under each one
[1] Accessed Aug 2016 Wikipedia Patrick Sarsfield “Paddy” Donegan https://t.co/o6X5GB1XTT
Patrick Sarsfield “Paddy” Donegan (29 October 1923 – 26 November 2000) was an Irish Fine Gael politician.[1]
He was educated at a Christian Brothers School in Drogheda, County Louth and at the Vincentian Castleknock College, County Dublin. Donegan was first elected as a Fine Gael Teachta Dála (TD) for the Louth constituency at the 1954 general election.[2] He lost his seat at the 1957 general election but was elected to Seanad Éireann by the Agricultural Panel. He regain his Dáil seat at the 1961 general election. In the Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition government which took power after the 1973 general election Donegan was appointed as Minister for Defence.
In October 1976 Donegan made a controversial speech on an official visit to the opening of new kitchen facilities in an army barracks at Mullingar. He described as a “thundering disgrace” President Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh’s refusal to sign the Emergency Powers Act, 1976, instead using his powers under Article 26 of the Constitution to refer it to the Supreme Court.[3] The Taoiseach, Liam Cosgrave, refused Donegan’s resignation, and instead Ó Dálaigh resigned as President of Ireland. The whole episode badly damaged the government’s reputation.
In 1976 Donegan became Minister for Lands, and in 1977 he served briefly as Minister for Fisheries. Donegan retired from politics at the 1981 general election, and died in 2000. He was buried in his home town of Monasterboice.
References
[1] “Mr. Patrick S. Donegan”. Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
[2] “Patrick S. Donegan”. ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
[3] “Politicians pay tribute to Paddy Donegan”. RTÉ News. 26 November 2000.]
–
[2] 2000 May 24 Mirror EX-POLITICIAN UNFIT FOR TRIAL; Child sex abuse case is dropped via Free Library http://www.thefreelibrary.com/EX-POLITICIAN+UNFIT+FOR+TRIAL%3B+Child+sex+abuse+case+is+dropped.-a062274422
[2a] As above [2] via Shame of Ireland Rob Northall https://t.co/5O9q7kJtmf Clues marked in bold.
SEVENTY child sex charges against a former senior politician were dropped yesterday because the State decided he was unfit to stand trial.
The offences were formally dropped two months after the High Court ruling based on his age and ill health.
Yesterday, the accused’s barrister Paddy McAntee revealed the DPP had agreed to drop the case based on the individual’s “deteriorating mental condition”.
The decision to rule out a trial two months ago was slammed at the time by one of the man’s alleged victims. The now middle-aged woman described the decision as a “Pinochet-style” let-off. She told the Irish Mirror: “This is very distressing. “I see this man out and about regularly, he is no more senile than I am. “All I wanted was a chance to face him in court and tell him what he had done to me.”
The woman claims she suffered years of trauma since the abuse which she said started when she was just six-years-old and lasted for eight years. Her accusations were supported by four other women who all said the former politician abused them as young girls.
The woman revealed that she had considered taking a civil action against the former public figure, but could not afford to do so. She said: “I do not have the money to go to court myself. “This was not about money for me or the other women who came forward. “I only wanted to have my day in court.”
The man had been accused of 70 sex attacks on five schoolchildren in the border area. He was charged after a Garda investigation into the abuse allegations, some of which date back 50 years. The allegations were surrounded by a wall of secrecy for more than 40 years until five women came forward to Gardai in 1997.
The alleged victim said: “I tried to tell people at the time, but no one wanted to know. “I told a nun and I eventually told my mother, but it was a different time and people could not imagine that such a well-respected man, a politician, could do such a thing. “He used to give me sweets after the abuse, which was the most serious type of abuse, and warn me not to tell my parents about what happened.”
A file was forwarded to the DPP who decided to take a prosecution against the man. The accused then lodged a legal appeal with the High Court in a bid to block the criminal proceedings against him.
His lawyers claimed it would be unfair to place him on trial because of his age, the availability of evidence and witnesses and adverse publicity in the media. However, an affidavit on behalf of the DPP yesterday stated that the prosecution would not be proceeding in the light of a psychologist’s report into the man’s mental condition.
[3] Accessed Aug 2016 Castleknock College Union Requiescat in Pace https://www.knockunion.ie/obituary/requiescat-in-pace-9986
[4] Afloat http://www.afloat.ie/blogs/sailing-saturday-with-wm-nixon/item/27583-a-new-tall-ship-for-ireland?-its-back-to-the-future Unfortunately for the respectability of the maritime movement in Ireland, our supporters in the higher echelons of politics have often tended to be from the colourful end of the political spectrum, whatever about their placing in the left-right continuum. Thus it was that, at mid-morning on St Patrick’s Day 1973, I got an ebullient phone call and an immediate announcement, without the caller saying who he was. “Winkie” he bellowed, “That ship is going to be built. I’ll make sure of it. I’ve just made a ministerial decision”. It emerged that it was our very own new Minister for Defence, Patrick Sarsfield Donegan TD.
[6] 2000 Mar 31 Irish Times Former politician `not fit to stand trial’ on child abuse charges http://www.irishtimes.com/news/former-politician-not-fit-to-stand-trial-on-child-abuse-charges-1.261612
The DPP is not to proceed with the prosecution of a former senior politician on 70 charges of indecent assault of five children following expert medical advice that the man is unfit to stand trial due to his age and illness, the High Court was told yesterday.
Mr Justice Kelly struck out proceedings brought by the former politician, who was seeking an order restraining the DPP from further proceeding with the criminal prosecution, which was due to be heard in the Circuit Criminal Court.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in national politics for more than two decades. ail and Seanad.
Five persons made allegations of indecent assault against him. The complainants are understood to be adults who claimed they were abused by the man when they were children. Some of the allegations date back more than 30 years and are alleged to have occurred in a school.
A file had been sent to the DPP three years ago and he had decided that the elderly man should be prosecuted. He faced 70 charges of child sexual abuse.
The former politician got High Court permission two years ago to challenge the intended criminal proceedings, claiming it was unfair to continue the proceedings having regard to delay in making complaints, his age, the availability of witnesses and material evidence, the generalised nature of the allegations and previous adverse media publicity.
Yesterday Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, for the man, told Mr Justice Kelly the State had accepted there was no issue to be determined. Expert advice was that the man was not fit to face trial through age and illness, and in those circumstances the DPP had agreed to enter a nolle prose-qui in the Circuit Criminal Court.
An affidavit on behalf of the DPP stated that, in the light of a psychologist’s report, the DPP had decided the former politician was not in a position to stand trial due to his deteriorating mental condition. The prosecution would not be pursued.
[7] 2000 May 24 Irish Times Sexual assault charges withdrawn http://www.irishtimes.com/news/sexual-assault-charges-withdrawn-1.274367
The State yesterday withdrew 70 charges of sexual assault against a former politician. The High Court was told in March that the DPP would not be proceeding with the prosecution following medical advice that the man was unfit to stand trial because of his age and illness. At Cavan Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, the State withdrew the charges.
[8] House of the Oireachtas Dáil Éireann Members’ Directory http://www.oireachtas.ie/members/default.asp?housetype=0
[9] Shame of Ireland Webpage http://theenchantingvalley.ning.com
[10] Shame of Ireland twitter @ShameOfIreland
[11] For more details of how Patrick Donegan was unmasked see articles, information and databases in the comments [2a]
[12] 2000 Dec 1 Irish Independent Paddy Donegan 1923-2000 http://www.independent.ie/regionals/argus/news/paddy-donegan-19232000-26925217.html
[13] 2000 Nov 26 State Gift Paddy Donegan: Biografie
[A] Sanctuary for the Abused http://abusesanctuary.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/for-survivors-coping-with-triggers-if.html
[B] NAPAC http://www.napac.org.uk/
[C] One in Four http://www.oneinfour.org.uk/
[D] Havoca http://www.havoca.org/HAVOCA_home.htm
[E] SurvivorsJustice Triggers post http://survivorsjustice.com/2014/02/26/triggers-what-are-they-and-how-do-we-work-through-them/
[F] SurvivorsJustice Blog http://survivorsjustice.com/
[G] Jim Hopper Mindfulness http://www.jimhopper.com/mindfulness/
[H] Jim Hopper Meditation http://www.jimhopper.com/mindfulness/#cultivate
[J] 2016 Jan 5 Hwaairfan blog An Indigenous Australian Approach to Healing Trauma https://hwaairfan.wordpress.com/2016/01/05/an-indigenous-australian-approach-to-healing-trauma/
[K] Survivors UK website for victims and survivors of male rape or the sexual abuse of men https://www.survivorsuk.org/ and twitter https://twitter.com/SurvivorsUK
[L] Voicing CSA website – http://voicingcsa.uk/ helps arrange survivors meetings in your area. Voicing CSA supports the IICSA and VSCP and works to help adult survivors of child sexual abuse find their voice
This is all written in good faith but if there is anything that needs to be corrected please email donegan@cathyfox.33mail.com
cathyfox
the truth will out, the truth will shout, the truth will set us free
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” – Edmund Burke
“He who does not bellow the truth when he knows the truth makes himself the accomplice of liars and forgers.” Charles Peguy